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THE E^I^TH 



J 



SMICAL SYSTEM 



A Unit of Measure in Estimating Man's Relative Im- 
portance in the Scale of Being. 



ROBERT CURRY, A.M., Ph.D., 

Principal of the Nebraska Stale Normal School. 

BEING 

A BACCALAUREATE ADDRESS 

DELIVERED BEFORE THE 

Graduating Class at Peru, Nebraska, Sunday, June 
10, 1877. 





LINCOLN: 

JOURNAL COMPANY. STATE PRINTERS. 
1882. 



Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1882 

By ROBERT CURRY, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



"rM 



■ All are but parts of one stupendous whole 
Whose body nature is and God the soul. ' ' 

— Pope. 



THE 

Earth as a Cosmical System. 



If, in the light of modern science, we 
examine Mature, we find order, harmony, 
and system everywhere prevail; and in 
every part unmistakable evidence of a 
Great First Cause. So that the senti- 
ment of Pope, that 

"All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
Whose body Nature is and God the soul," 

although not regarded as very good 
theology nowadays, because when taken 
literally it savors of Pantheism, is never- 
theless true, at least figuratively, in more 
respects than one; for if we examine na- 
ture in all her manifold and pleasing 
forms, and witness the organic relation 
of all her parts, constituting, as they do, 
one complete system, and then contem- 
plate the evident marks of design and the 
wisdom and the power and the goodness 
manifested therein, we cannot but be im- 



THE EARTH AS A 



pressed with a belief in the existence of a 
God who animates and perpetuates the 
whole, the withdrawal of whose presence 
would cause all life to cease and leave na- 
ture as a corpse to a speedy dissolution, 
thus showing a relation to exist between 
God and nature at least somewhat analo- 
gous to that between soul and body. 

To the superficial observer the visible 
parts of creation appear fragmentary, and 
the methods of perpetuating and govern- 
ing even this world seem to be more the 
results of chance than the realization of a 
previous conception; but to the man of 
science and reflection there is abundant 
evidence that not only this world, but all 
the other worlds of which we have any 
knowledge are, in the mind and plan of 
the Creator, but parts of one great system 
to which we apply the name universe, a 
term which literally signifies turned into 
one, and implies not merely an aggrega- 
tion of parts or collection of objects, but 
their harmonious arrangement into one 
system subject to one Supreme control. 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 



KTow, since all things are thus organic- 
ally related, and since we can understand 
the individual parts of any organic system 
only in so far as we can comprehend them 
in their relations to that system, it follows 
that, in order to a full appreciation of any- 
thing, we must be able to comprehend 
it in its relations to all things thus 
taken organically. Hence, in order that 
we may be able to form an adequate esti- 
mate of man's relative importance in the 
scale of being, we must first gain a 
bird's-eye view of the universe of which 
he forms but an insignificant part. And 
it is for the purpose of obtaining such a 
view that in imagination we are now about 
to enter upon a half hour's exploring ex- 
pedition through the universe, believing 
that by thus widening our mental horizon 
we shall be the better prepared to appre- 
ciate man's relative importance in the 
scale of being. 

This is a subject whose consideration 
has received but little attention, man's 
superiority over the rest of creation hav- 



6 THE EARTH AS A 

ing been generally assumed without in- 
vestigation. And, doubtless, by many its 
discussion now would be regarded as prac- 
tically useless. 

But surely some knowledge of man's 
relative importance in the scale of being 
is not only desirable in itself but lies at 
the very threshold of all human im- 
provement; for while a man believes that 
he is not only the principal creature in 
the universe but that everything else in 
it was made for his special accommoda- 
tion, he has such an inadequate concep- 
tion of the vastness of creation and of his 
own relative insignificance that it is im- 
possible for him to make any real prog- 
ress. 

It is observed by persons who have 
traveled much, that people who remain 
all their lives in the same neighborhood 
in which they were born, without having 
access to books or any communication 
with the outer world, usually grow up in 
so much ignorance, prejudice, and self- 
conceit that they are not only oblivious to 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 



what is going on in the world around 
them but impenetrable to all its better 
influences. Such people are generally 
bigoted and narrow-minded, and of ne- 
cessity measure everything, whether it be 
of a social, political, or religious nature, 
in the units of their own petty neighbor- 
hood. But, when such a community is 
brought into communication with the 
outer world, by means of its railroads, 
telegraphs, and literature, a marked change 
takes place. When thus exposed to the 
current of human progress and brought 
into sympathy with its influence, the citi- 
zens of such a community become more 
liberal-minded and tolerant of the opin- 
ions of others; their ignorance, prejudice, 
and self-conceit give place to intelligence 
and a love for truth; and, being thus ani- 
mated by nobler impulses, broader views, 
and higher aspirations, they rise to a 
higher plane in the scale of humanity. 

But it has seemed to me that what is 
thus true of the people of an isolated 
community in comparison with those of 



8 THE EAKTH AS A 

the rest of the world, is pre-eminently 
true of the chief inhabitants of the earth 
as compared with those of the rest of the 
universe, so long as all their thoughts and 
aspirations are restricted to terrestrial 
bounds. Indeed, the very nature of their 
environment, while thus circumscribed, 
has a tendency to foster their native arro- 
gance and self-conceit; for being the high- 
est order of creatures on the earth, they 
are continually flattered by a comparison 
of themselves with beings of inferior or- 
ders, without ever coming into compari- 
son with those of a superior order, till by 
and by they come to believe that they are 
the very lords of creation. But could 
man, as the chief inhabitant of the earth, 
be brought into direct communication 
with the rest of the universe, and thus 
enabled to compare himself with its chief 
intelligences, he would doubtless soon find 
occasion to modify his estimate of his own 
relative importance, and perhaps be thus 
enabled to live thereafter more in harmo- 
ny with his surroundings. 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 



It may be here objected, however, that 
we have no direct means of knowing that 
other worlds are inhabited by intelligent 
beings. And this is true, if by direct 
means is meant original, direct, or imme- 
diate knowledge. But it must be remem- 
bered that man has been endowed with 
reason, inventive genius, and ability to 
interpret manifestations of design, as re- 
corded in the book of nature; that knowl- 
edge gained by these means is quite as 
natural, as reliable, and as obligatory 
upon human beings as that derived from 
sense-perception or any other source; and 
that, in the free exercise of all these pow- 
ers, guided by a knowledge of universal 
science and aided by the use of all kinds 
of astronomical instruments, men of the 
greatest ability and most profound re- 
search have been led to the deliberate 
conclusion that, in accordance with the 
original plan, all the worlds that people 
space are designed to become, in some 
period of their existence, the abodes of 
intelligent beings. Of course it is not 



10 THE EARTH AS A 

claimed that all of them are so peopled at 
the same time, or any one of them at all 
times, but each in its turn. For example : 
our earth, since emerging from its chaotic 
condition, has passed through many stages 
of progress, each successive step being 
marked by a higher order of phenomena 
peculiar to itself, as physical, chemical, 
vital, and so on, till at length it has cul- 
minated in its present profusion of life, 
with man at its head. The moon has 
already run her vital course, and ceased to 
be an abode of living beings; while Jupi- 
ter has not yet arrived at the condition 
of habitability; and when with the aid of 
the spectroscope we examine the heavens, 
we find other worlds in analogous stages 
of progress. And thus it is that science 
teaches us that every star and planet and 
satellite has a lifetime of its own, and that 
doubtless each, in its fullness of time, be- 
comes an abode of intelligent beings. 

But, assuming that other worlds in their 
turn become the abodes of intelligent be- 
ings, it may still be asked, how can man 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 11 

form any proper estimate of his own rela- 
tive importance as compared with them ? 
For it is admitted that we can estimate 
the relative importance of anything only 
by comparison, and hence that, in order 
to form any adequate conception of man's 
relative importance in the scale of being, 
we must compare him with the other in- 
telligences of the universe ; and it may be 
truly said that we have no direct means 
of thus comparing him with them. The 
plan of my lecture assumes, however, that 
although this cannot be done directly, in- 
asmuch as we have no direct means of be- 
coming personally acquainted with the 
inhabitants of other worlds, yet that it 
may be done indirectly by comparing his 
abode with that of theirs. 

Before entering upon the formal discus- 
sion of this part of my subject, it may be 
proper to premise that the word cosmos, 
a term which I shall frequently have occa- 
sion to use, is an anglicised Greek word, 
which literally signifies order, harmony, 
system, and hence is applicable to any- 



12 THE EARTH AS A 



thing which comprises all these elements. 
Technically it is not applied, however, to 
any system smaller than that of our earth. 
Hence, assuming that the inhabitants of 
the universe are somewhat proportionate 
in their importance to the cosmical sys- 
tems to which they respectively belong, 
we shall use the earth as a kind of cosmical 
unit in estimating man's relative import- 
ance in the scale of being. And in order 
that the comparison may be the more 
complete, we shall, first, take a mental 
survey of this world of ours, and then 
inductively rise, by easy gradations, from 
the contemplation of individual worlds to 
that highest generalization in which the 
sum total of all things appears as but one 
complete system. 

Beginning, then, with our world, we 
find everything reduced to system. All 
its masses of unorganized matter assume 
and retain their form and relative position 
in virtue of natural forces acting in sub- 
ordination to a previous plan. All the 
chemical elements that enter into the 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 13 

composition of matter unite in definite 
proportions and according to fixed laws. 
Every plant belonging to the vegetable 
kingdom, from the mightiest oak to the 
infinitesimal forms revealed by the micro- 
scope, is in itself a complete organism. 
And every member of the animal king- 
dom, from the monsters of the land and 
sea to the microscopic forms so small that 
a billion of them can pass at once through 
a needle's eye, is in itself a complete or- 
ganism. And all these different kinds of 
organisms are themselves grouped into 
systems which are the mutual comple- 
ments of one another, have a regular or- 
der of superposition, and are so harmo- 
niously arranged and nicely adjusted that 
when we thus examine the earth as to its 
mechanical laws, its chemical constitution, 
its manifold forms of vegetable life, and 
its teeming millions of animal existences, 
and witness the organic relation of all 
these systems as parts, their mutual de- 
pendencies and adaptations, and the unity 
of design that everywhere prevails, we 



14 THE EARTH AS A 



cannot but regard this world of ours, 
with all its manifoldness and endless va- 
riety, as a complete system, a perfect cos- 
mos in itself. 

But our world is only one of many 
similar bodies known as planets which 
revolve around the sun as their common 
center, and which, with their satellites, 
the comets, the meteoric and zodiacal 
belts, and the sun, constitute the solar sys- 
tem. In order to form an approximate 
idea of the magnitude of this system it is 
only necessary to consider that, in addition 
to the several rings of meteoric bodies 
already alluded to, it embraces over 200 
planets and planetoids, about 20 satellites, 
and more than 800 comets already discov- 
ered; that some of the other planets are 
much larger than the earth, Jupiter for 
example, being more than 1,300 times as 
large; that the sun is nearly 1,300,000 
times as large as the earth, and 500 times 
as large as all the planets, satellites, and 
comets taken together; that Neptune, the 
most remote planet in the solar system 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 15 

yet discovered, is nearly 3,000,000,000 of 
miles distant, and requires 165 of our 
years to make its annual revolution, and 
that a cannon ball traveling from it at the 
rate of 500 miles an hour, would require 
nearly 700 years to reach the sun. Now, 
as the constitution and most of the physi- 
cal conditions of some of the other plan- 
ets are similar to those of ours, doubtless 
they are as replete with life and the varied 
forms of existence as ours. And inas- 
much as some of the others are much 
larger, constructed on a grander scale, 
and more highly ornamented than ours, 
it is fair to suppose that they are destined 
to possess, in their turn, a greater variety 
of creatures, and perhaps a higher order 
of intelligences than ours. And yet, not- 
withstanding the great number of bodies 
which revolve round the sun, their im- 
mense magnitudes and distances, and the 
multiplicity and infinite variety of the 
planetary existences, all, when taken to- 
gether, form a complete system, which is a 
perfect cosmos in itself. 



16 THE EARTH AS A 

But the sun, the center of the solar sys- 
tem, is only one of the stars. And it may 
be here remarked that the number of stars 
even in our firmament is truly wonderful; 
for, although it is computed that only 
about 6,000 of them are visible to the 
naked eye, yet by the aid of the telescope 
over 20,000,000 of them, embracing every 
variety of size, color, and brilliancy, have 
been already brought into view. And 
doubtless each of these stars is the center 
of a great system to which it imparts heat 
and light and life and happiness, just as 
the sun does to the solar system. And as 
multitudes of the stars are many times as 
large as the sun, some of them being 
more than a million times as large, and 
as doubtless the planets composing their 
respective systems are proportionally num- 
erous and large, may they not abound in 
modes of existence and orders of intelli- 
gence in comparison with which those of 
this little world of ours dwindle into in- 
significance? 

If we carry our investigations still further 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 17 

we find the stars themselves gathered into 
systems. Thousands of the stars, which, on 
account of their great distances, appear sin- 
gle to the naked eye, are found, when exam- 
ined with a telescope, to consist of several 
glowing suns which, with their retinue of 
attendant worlds, instead of revolving 
around some great central sun, as in the 
case of the sun systems already noticed, 
simply revolve around their common cen- 
ter of gravity, which in their case is usu- 
ally a mere point in space, not coinciding 
with any of them. As these systems, or 
multiple stars as they are called, are fre- 
quently composed of stars of various col- 
ors, as white, green, blue, purple, and so 
on, what a variety and wonderful blend- 
ing of coloring must be witnessed on the 
planets which they conjointly illuminate! 
And yet each of these multiples, with all 
its complications and endless variety, is a 
complete system, a perfect cosmos in it- 
self. 

On more careful examination, we find 
the heavens to abound in groups of stars. 



18 THE EARTH AS A 

And some of these groups that appear to 
the naked eye, and even in telescopes of 
moderate size, as mere hazy specks in the 
sky, not occupying the space of one-fourth 
the apparent size of the moon, are found, 
when examined with a stronger glass, to 
embrace hundreds of brilliant suns, all 
arranged in beautiful symmetry and sur- 
passing in grandeur ten thousand worlds 
like ours. And yet each of these groups, 
with all its glowing suns and attendant 
worlds, is a complete system, a perfect 
cosmos in itself. And, when we reflect 
on the countless numbers of these groups 
and the myriads of exalted intelligences 
that may inhabit them, we cannot but re- 
gard the inhabitants of this world but "as 
the drop of a bucket" or "'as the small 
dust of the balance." 

Peering still further into the heavens 
with the aid of a more powerful telescope, 
we descry in portions of space not occu- 
pying one-tenth the apparent size of the 
moon, beautiful globular clusters of stars, 
all arranged in perfect harmony, each of 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 19 

which, although invisible to the naked 
eye, embraces more than ten thousand 
bright and glowing suns. And yet each 
of these myriad clusters, with all its 
mighty host of suns and worlds and in- 
habitants, is a complete system, a perfect 
cosmos in itself. 

It is now understood that not only the 
solar system but all the other star-sys- 
tems, groups, and clusters that compose 
our whole starry firmament, embracing 
not only those visible to the naked eye 
but also those revealed by the telescope, 
are organically related and have a com- 
mon center of gravity and motion, thus 
constituting one grand system, a perfect 
cosmos of the highest order yet discov- 
ered, and which is sometimes called our 
universe because it comprises all of crea- 
tion known to us till very recently. Now, 
in order to form a faint conception of the 
vastness of this system, it is only neces- 
sary to consider that the nearest star in 
our firmament is more than 20,000,000,- 
000,000 of miles distant, and that its light 



20 THE EARTH AS A 

traveling at the rate of 185,000 miles a 
second, which rate would carry it round 
the earth more than seven times in a sec- 
ond, is nearly 3| years in reaching us; 
while the more remote stars even of our 
firmament are so far away that their light 
requires more than 50,000 years, and a 
cannon ball, traveling from them at the 
rate of 500 miles an hour, would require 
more than 3,000,000,000 of years to reach 
us — a period in comparison with which all 
the time that has elapsed since man was 
placed on earth seems as but a fleeting 
moment! 

But our whole starry firmament, with all 
its apparent magnificence, is but a mere 
speck in the scheme of nature, a kind of 
island universe in the infinite ocean of 
space. Over 5,000 such universes have 
been already discovered, and doubtless 
these and ours and myriads of others have 
a common revolution around some still 
greater center, and so on, in a constantly 
ascending scale, till at last the great cen- 
ter of centers is reached, where all motion 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 21 

originates, and where all forces and laws 
are resolved into one — thus literally consti- 
tuting The Universe, and where some de- 
vout astronomers have conjectured is the 
Throne of Mature, for it is written, "The 
Lord hath prepared his throne in the 
heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all." 
Noav, if in imagination we take our 
stand on the central plane of the universe, 
near this great throne of universal empire, 
around which all the worlds, and suns, and 
multiples, and groups, and clusters, and 
firmaments that people space sweep in 
their matchless grandeur, and there con- 
template the various works of God, we 
are filled with wonder and with awe; and 
while, enraptured with the music of the 
spheres, we with sublime emotion stand 
and gaze on the mighty orbs of brilliant 
luster and varied hue as they roll on in 
their glorious course, replete with life, and 
witness their teeming millions instinct 
with joy, warbling out their notes of 
praise to the great Jehovah, we are filled 
with admiration and delight. 



22 THE EARTH AS A 

But, leaving these transporting scenes, 
let us now in imagination wing our way 
out through the realms of space, till in 
the very outskirts of creation we behold 
this benighted world of ours, and when 
almost within speaking distance, with mi- 
croscopic view, descry the creature man 
as a mere atom on its surface, and then, 
approaching still nearer, observe him 
strutting and swelling and bidding defi- 
ance to all the laws of nature, and even 
belching out blasphemy against the great 
Creator, and then reflect that, while the 
heavens declare the glory of God and 
the firmament showeth his handiwork, 
perhaps this is the only world that has 
been marred by sin, and you will have 
some faint conception of man's relative 
importance in the scale of being. 

And surely, from this comparison of our 
earth as a cosmical system with the other 
cosmical systems of the universe, we find 
but little to flatter our pride but much to 
teach us humility. For instead of finding 
ourselves to be the lords of creation, as we 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 



have been accustomed to style ourselves, it 
appears that we are but the petty tyrants 
of this little sublunary sphere which we 
call the earth. With great propriety then 
can each of us adopt the language of the 
Psalmist and say: " When I consider the 
heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon 
and the stars which thou hast ordained, 
Lord, what is man that thou art mindful 
of him ! or the son of man that thou dost 
visit him! " 

Still, we have no reason to despair; for 
although we belong to a cosmos of the 
lowest order, and it a rebel province curs- 
ed by sin, we find many creatures on it 
more insignificant than ourselves, and 
divine revelation assures us that God's 
watchful providence extends to all his 
creatures so minutely that not a sparrow 
falls to the ground without his notice, and 
that even the very hairs of our heads are 
numbered. Moreover, we are encouraged 
to claim, as our Heavenly Father, the 
same God that created and upholds the 
universe with all its superior intelligences. 



24 THE EARTH AS A 

And if not a sparrow falls to the ground 
without his notice, and if we are of more 
value than many sparrows, how much 
more will He take care of us ! 

Besides, we are distinctly taught in rev- 
elation that the earth is not to be our 
abiding place forever, that this present 
life is but a state of preparation, and this 
world but a preparatory school for anoth- 
er far more enduring; that our capacities 
for future enjoyment will be conditioned 
by our present action; and that this little 
creature man, so instinct with immortali- 
ty, is destined to survive the wreck of 
time, and if regenerated and saved may 
bask in the sunshine of God's presence 
throughout the ceaseless ages of eternal 
duration ! 

But, if this be our relation to the pres- 
ent and to the future life, how important 
is it that we should be up and doing, and 
improve our present opportunities to the 
best advantage ! For doubtless every state 
of existence has its own peculiar laws of 
development and discipline. And if so, 



COSMICAL SYSTEM. 25 

the development and discipline required 
of us here cannot be secured hereafter, 
but must be acquired by severe labor sub- 
ject to all the trials and difficulties pecu- 
liar to the present life. 

JSTor need any one ever be afraid of ex- 
hausting the sources of knowledge treas- 
ured up even in this world, or of learning 
too much in any event; for the greatest 
philosopher scarcely finds out enough to 
teach him how little he knows. Even Sir 
Isaac Newton, after having explored all 
the fields of science to the best of his abil- 
ity, was led to exclaim, "I have gathered 
but a few pebbles on the sea-shore of 
creation!" Besides, when we shall have 
acquired all the knowledge we can on 
earth, and thus disciplined all our facul- 
ties by the most judicious application, we 
shall be scarcely qualified, even in an in- 
tellectual point of view, to enter the 
threshold of eternity; for doubtless we 
have many lessons to learn after we leave 
this mundane sphere. We have reason 
to believe, however, that the conditions 



26 THE EARTH AS A COSMICAL SYSTEM. 



of our immortal growth in the future life 
will be such as to afford us unalloyed 
pleasure. And, when we pass the bourne 
of time and stand on the hills of immor- 
tality, our mental horizon may be much 
widened and our field of vision greatly 
enlarged. 

"Lo! there in contemplation's car 
We may career from star to star; 
And, wondering, view the works of God, 
By angels seen, by angels trod." 



B -89 



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